Colorectal Surgery Resident Manual

PRINCIPLES OF THE PROGRAM

The Southern Illinois University Program in Colorectal Surgery is a collaborative educational program involving academic and private colorectal surgeons who have come together to craft a program designed to provide excellent postgraduate training in the current practice of colorectal surgery. The catchment area for the Southern Illinois University Program in Colorectal Surgery encompasses the southern two-thirds of Illinois, including urban and rural populations. The breadth of pathology seen by surgeons in the Program covers the entire spectrum of colorectal disease, from basic uncomplicated anorectal and colorectal problems in otherwise healthy people to complex and complicated anorectal and colorectal problems in people with multiple medical comorbidities. The surgical faculty enjoys a good working relationship with other subspecialties who often participate in management of complex cases, including but not limited to: urology, gynecology, plastic surgery, radiation and medical oncology, gastroenterology, orthopedics, and enterostomal therapy/wound management. The CRS attendings have trained at different programs, allowing a breadth of experience for the trainee’s benefit.

The SIU Colorectal Surgery Program utilizes two inpatient facilities and two outpatient facilities. The inpatient facilities allow the CRS resident to gain experience with working within two distinct healthcare systems – a private, nonprofit healthcare system as well as a church-owned healthcare system. Each inpatient facility is part of a larger regional healthcare system which incorporates inpatient and outpatient care elements.  The culture within each system is also distinctly different. Experience with both will equip the CRS resident with skills that will aid his/her transition into a practice setting. Similarly, the two outpatient settings are distinctly different – one is an academic clinic setting, and the other a private office setting, and experience with both will allow the CRS resident to feel more comfortable when settling into the type of practice s/he chooses after completion of training.

Faculty members participate in and direct a number of research endeavors, which include faculty from other areas such as Surgical Oncology, basic science research, Surgical Education, Gastroenterology, Radiation Oncology, Medical Oncology, and Infectious Disease.

RESIDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Medical Knowledge: acquire the necessary medical knowledge for the practice of Colorectal Surgery.
2. Patient Care:  management of the Colorectal Surgery Service, which encompasses the patients at the two hospitals included in the program. Performance of inpatient and outpatient procedures as appropriate to skill level. Evaluation and assessment of inpatients and outpatients referred to Colorectal Surgery.
3. Practice Based Learning:  Show ability for meaningful self-assessment and selection of realistic, achievable performance and improvement goals to foster life-long learning; demonstrate skill in use of information technology; demonstrate ability to analyze and improve practice or patient care; develop teaching skills needed to educate patients, families, students, and others.
4. Interpersonal skills and communication: Communicate effectively with patients and families; work well as leader and member of healthcare team; maintain medical records on a timely basis. Be able to give a coherent presentation with PowerPoint.
5. Professionalism: Develop and display commitment to professional responsibilities and ethical principles. Conduct self in a professional manner.
6. Systems based Practice: display ability to work effectively in various healthcare delivery settings with coordination of patient care, concern for risk-benefit analysis, and serve as advocate for patient safety and quality care.

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